September 02, 2010

Research Proposal on The Problem of Drug Use among Youth in Kenya

Several problems are being faced by many societies nowadays,
given by the fact that the society is continually changing. The changes the
society encounter leads to the modification of the lifestyle of many
individuals, most especially the younger generation, who become easily
influenced and swayed by a number of factors that surround them. Changes in the
society are evident in terms of economy, politics, education, industry, and in
technology, which depends upon the use and the need of a particular society. In
this regard, changes can be seen to bring success and prestige to individuals
and societies. However, these changes not only bring about success, prestige,
and development to the members of society, but disadvantages and problems as
well. Unlike the advantages brought about by the changes in the society,
problems and challenges effect chaos and discord among individuals and families.
Along with the success and development of societies are the problems its face,
including the upsurge cases of drug and alcohol addiction, crimes, graft and
corruption, unsafe working and living conditions, poverty, unemployment,
illnesses, and deaths. From this, it can be seen that along with the development
of societies are its drawbacks that may become part of its consequences.

In relation to all these challenges in the society is one of
the gravest problems, which is drug addiction among youths in Kenya. The issue
of drug use and addiction is associated to certain concepts, including habit,
disorder, disease, abuse, substance, effects, and criminality. Because it is
associated with such concepts, it is generally thought of connoting negative
impressions and impacts. Generally, the concept of chemical dependency is
associated with terms such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and substance use and
abuse. Nevertheless, this concept is defined as a disease, disorder or illness
that is characterized by addiction to a mood-altering chemical, including drugs
and alcohol, thus, transcending age, gender, race, religion, or economic status
(Drobes, 2002). It can become a progressive, chronic, and fatal disease if
untreated, that is why treatments and preventions are given importance and
emphasis, especially with the younger generation. In addition, the concept of
chemical dependency is commonly associated with criminality and mental
disorders, which are considered the effects of becoming chemically dependent
individuals. In this sense, such individuals are termed as Chemically Dependent
Criminal Offenders or CDCO, who commit grave violations against other
individuals, the community, and the State due to the strong influence of alcohol
or drugs. Nowadays, given the changes that take place in the society, most
criminal offenders are comprised by adolescents or the younger generation, who
become as such due to the influence of drugs or alcohol. According to the
Juvenile Rehabilitation Association or JRA, 82% juvenile offenders use chemical
substances. The most common major problems among the youth today include
substance abuse and drug related crimes. In this regard, several governments
come up with ways on reducing criminality and juvenile delinquency through
different rehabilitation programs and treatments that would improve the
situation of the chemical dependent adolescents in order to improve the society
as a whole. However, despite the number of chemical dependence rehabilitation
programs, not all are considered to be effective, as many criminal offenders
presently convicted were influenced by drugs or alcohol during their crime. As
reported, 3 in 4 violent offenders in prison committed their crime offenses
under the influence of drugs, with a percentage of 72% (Mumola and Karberg,
2007). In addition, more than half of the prisoners in the United States
indicated symptoms consistent with drug dependence or abuse, having a percentage
of 53%, and such dependence was associated with a range of symptoms, including
behavioral, cognitive, and physiological problems (Mumola and Karberg, 2007).
These data indicate that despite the efforts of governments to help the society
alleviate the impacts of drug and alcohol dependence, crimes attributed to
chemical dependence continue to increase. With this problem at hand, this
research study aims to examine the most effective rehabilitation method or
technique for the chemical dependent offender population.

Objectives of the Study

This research study will be done to help increase knowledge
and information regarding the rehabilitation methods for Kenyan Youth Drug
abusers and the effectiveness of a number of rehabilitation methods for their
treatment. Hence, this research study will be conducted to determine which of
the rehabilitation methods for chemically dependent offender populations is the
most effective. The specific research objectives for this study can be
summarized as follows:

1)To find out causes of addiction and drug dependency in
the target population;

2)To determine the effects of drug dependency to
individuals and to the society of Kenya;

3)To determine the different drug and alcohol
rehabilitation methods currently used, including its process, duration and
development;

4)To identify the elements that foresee substance
exploit problems or the problems that lead to drug dependency;

11) To give recommendations to the readers, to the
government, and to the society

Statement of the Problem

The increase in the number of drug dependent criminal
offenders among youths in the society, the Kenyan government leads to the
recognition of a number of drug dependent rehabilitation programs. Due to the
perceived significant and essential role played by drug dependency
rehabilitation programs in the treatment of drug and alcohol dependents, it is
important to recognize the different rehabilitation and treatment methods that
would help in the recovery of substance dependents and in the alleviation of the
number of criminal cases related to substance use in the Kenyan society. This
study intends to examine the most effective rehabilitation program for drug
dependent offender population in Kenya. Specifically, the study intends to
answer the following queries:

What could be the most
recommended drug dependent rehabilitation program for offenders?

What are the risks to be taken
note of in undergoing such rehabilitation program?

What are the barriers to be
considered in allowing a criminal offender in undergoing the treatment
program?

Are there other alternative
treatment programs available that could present the same effects and treatment
for offenders?

What are strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can be attributed to undergoing
such programs?

Significance of the Study

This research study will be a significant in knowing the
perceived best and most effective drug dependent treatment programs for offender
population, which could be suggested to the government and to the families of
the substance dependent. It will be significant in the development of more
scientific and research-based approaches in addressing the different problems
regarding the relationship of substance abuse and the increase in youth criminal
cases in the Kenya. In addition, this research study can also be significant in
providing wider knowledge and alternatives for the government and the families
of the substance abusers regarding other available treatment and therapies for
the drug dependent offenders. Moreover, this study can be significant in the
endeavor for the improvement and development of the services and facilities of
different rehabilitation or treatment programs that would further cater to the
needs of the chemical dependent offender population in the society of Kenya.

Methodology

Three kinds of research methods can be used in doing research
studies, namely, correlational, experimental, and descriptive method. The
correlational method is used with regards to ethical and practical problems with
experiments (Neville, 2005). In addition, inferring causality from correlation
is not actually impossible but very difficult, so this mode of study is widely
acceptable, cheap and usually ethical. Nonetheless, there exist some “third
variable” issues and measurement problems in the use of this type of method. In
essence, this type of research method refers to studies in which the purpose is
to discover relationships between variables through the use of correlational
statistics (Neville, 2005).

With this, this study will use the descriptive approach to
utilize observations in the study. The research study started by conducting an
exploratory type of research in the aim to identify the variables needed. The
research study included personal interviews and self-administered
questionnaires. In addition, a set of articles and other literature were used in
the process of building constructs and identifying variables. After identifying
constructs and variables, a questionnaire was made and distributed to
respondents from different drug dependency treatment centers and rehabilitation
institutions. Particularly, the method utilized in this research study is termed
the research onion process, which will be used in order to ensure that the
researcher will be able to obtain the necessary data to examine which
rehabilitation program is the most effective treatment for chemically dependent
offenders.